


Honeysuckle’s Lament

by Kurrin



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Romance, Angst and Tragedy, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Heavy angst in the end, Melancholy, Sad Romance, Silver Snow Route, Silver Snow spoilers, Slow Burn, Smut, Smut AND Romance, Suffering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:48:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22547296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kurrin/pseuds/Kurrin
Summary: During the boredom in Byleth’s life at the monastery, dreaming of Dimitri brings her confort and hope. One day, she finally finds him.Soon Byleth will know the true nature of their fate...“When the honeysuckle has wound itself round and is attached to the hazel tree, the two plants survive together...”
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 13
Kudos: 43





	1. Weeping Petals

**Author's Note:**

> Huge disclaimer: if you’re searching for a happy story, this will definitely not be your cup of tea. If you like angsty and melancholic things, welcome!  
> The title of the story is inspired from a lai by the medieval poetess Marie de France, “Chevrefoil”, which literally means “honeysuckle”.  
> For Dimitri’s character I want him to be dark and tormented, but still respectful towards Byleth.  
> The story takes place in the last chapters of Silver Snow route. You will know a few more details as the plot proceeds.  
> Hope you appreciate!

Byleth was waiting for twilight to come. Her goal for that annoying day was to curl up under the covers, close her eyes and get to see the prince again.

She thought of him for all day. He was sure the most handsome man she had ever seen. In the blurring of sleep she remembered his messy hair, which still managed to reflect the golden sunlight, covering his matured face, and so his massive shoulder and arms, in which she would have loved to dive into an embrace. She had the sensation of not remembering all the individual details of his figure and, every time she thought about it, wanted nothing more than darkness to fall above the monastery of Garreg Mach.

The lessons of that day were over. Byleth tried to show herself as little as possible to the people she met in her way, however her flowing hair with emerald reflections and her eccentric figure, recognized by everyone, made her quite apparent and vulnerable to casual greetings.

In the courtyard of the monastery, just outside the refectory where she had dined quickly and in solitude, there was a novelty that managed to arouse her attention and stop her journey even for a moment: on the trunk of a tree, white flowers had grown in a cheeky shape, due to the showy pistils. She had certainly seen them in some botanical books to prepare her to cultivate in the greenhouse. After observing them for a few seconds, she headed quickly and silently into her room.

* * *

  
The candle’s light was feeble. Normally, she would have need one more to study or read. That evening, however, she certainly would not have dedicated herself to such activities. Byleth used to waste a few hours between the pages before her sleeping, but that evening she only wanted to go to bed as soon as possible.

The dryness of her hair was stinging the back of her neck, but she didn't waste any time by treating them with oils. She stretched her legs and rested her head on the pillow. She leaned towards the wall, which reflected vague reddish flashes due to the candle - in these, Byleth’s mind was able to redesign the ambiguous scene in which she saw him. She could not figure out if the carmine clouds and the rosy sky belonged to sunrise or sunset. Perhaps, due to the shadows on Dimitri's body, it was the end of the day. Shortly after closing her eyes, Byleth saw the grandeur of his blue cloak. 

“Dimitri!” she exclaimed.

He turned, grumbling, revealing his face marked by melancholic expressions and eye circles. Byleth didn't remember he was so tall, she felt so tiny in front of him. The musculature under that black armor was certainly majestic, she imagined.

“Why are you here?”, his voice had a gloomy tone, certainly more mature compared to the boy’s one from the times of the Academy. However Byleth did not expect such a rough bearing. Had that dignified prince being substituted by a tormented and... ruthless warrior?

“I have no reason to live anymore” he mumbled, dazzling her.

“Dimitri, please don't tell me that...” panted Byleth. Dimitri turned to her. His eye, which at first seemed grim, had blunted.

“I long to see you... one last time” Dimitri whispered, staring at the ground.

“Dimitri, you don't know how much I wish it would happen” she smiled shyly. For a moment, she hoped he would do the same, but there was no curl of his lips on his massive jaw.

“Professor…”

The woman stood still, waiting for his words.

“Why did you choose Edelgard?”

Byleth's eyes widened suddenly. The wall faded black with purple spots - the candle had almost completely melted.

It was all her fault. She opposed Edelgard's actions as soon as the archbishop ordered her to kill her, but that had not been enough to save the prince. She recalled his words said in the cathedral: _“I’ll have that woman's head.”_

She gritted her teeth while she was breathing heavily. With every tear that went down, she felt her face bruised and her eyes burning. Her stomach was in pain. She brought her knees as close as possible to her chest. 

She turned to the side of the bed facing the desk, but there was no light. Only darkness reigned in her room.

She wanted to meet him again, but the thought of those words terrified her. The arrogant warmth of the blankets began to suffocate and stun her as tears poured copiously. An unanswered lament rumbled in her head: “ _Dimitri, forgive me.”_

* * *

>   
>  “ _Honeysuckle plants can be evergreen or deciduous, with simple leaves arranged oppositely along the stems. The tubular flowers are commonly borne in pairs. The fruit is a red, orange, or black berry that is attractive to wildlife._ ”

There was a drawing matching what Byleth saw that afternoon. 

> “ _When the honeysuckle has wound itself round and is attached to the hazel tree, the two plants survive together._ ”


	2. Lonely Petals

Byleth closed the botany book in her thin hands, without finishing her reading, and got up from the chair to leave the library; it was always difficult for her not to get noticed.

Shortly before crossing the entrance, she began to hear a chatter of female voices.

“They saw him in the woods between the monastery and the plain...”

She completely ignored it, until that phrase caught her attention.

“They say he had a big bluish coat and black armor...”

Byleth interrupted her journey: she stopped shortly in front of the library wall without being noticed by the two nuns.

“Really?”

“Yes and apparently he lost an eye... they said he was wearing a bandage.”

The professor tried to hold back a moan.

“Oh dear! He must be… dangerous, don't you think?”

“Definitely!”

“But... what did he do? Did he attack the knights?”

“No. They just saw him from afar.”

“What a story! Maybe it was all mirage!”

Byleth walked down the corridor at a padded pace after her ears listened to the buzz of their voices talking about something else.

She remembered that, in her dreams and visions, Dimitri was as the nuns described him. How could it be? Was it really him? They didn't say any names, but the coincidence of the details couldn't get out of Byleth’s head, which generated questions on questions: how could he survived? How did he live during those months? Byleth was lost in thoughts so much that her walk went quicker without her noticing. Just before reaching the stairs, however, a male voice attracted her concentration.

“It was Dimitri of House Blaiddyd... the lost king of Faerghus.”

Byleth stopped instantly. Two knights were talking behind him.

“From that distance he looked like a bear!”

“He must somehow managed to avoid the forces of the empire, which are no longer a threat for him now.”

“Of course... he would be a great ally for the Church with his warship abilities, but by just looking at him I had an incredible tremor!”

Byleth bit her lower lip. She immediately ran to her room.

* * *

The invasive sunbeams of that day were slowly muffled by gray clouds: the rain typical of the Verdant Rain Moon, the month that would have shortly begun, was about to arrive. Byleth was wearing a black cloak with a hood, which made her sweat easily due to the contact with her hair. It was long enough to cover the Sword of the Creator she brought with her.

Byleth had no idea where her road was going. Immediately after eavesdropping on the nuns' and knights’ conversations, she picked up the cloak, the sword, a few pieces of bread and some potions and then immediately ventured into the woods adjacent the monastery. When she left her room, the light was very present; judging by the few filtering flashes from the trees, sunset was approaching. She felt more and more confused: her search seemed to be in vain. In addition to tiredness on the calves, her stomach began to languish - she did not have lunch that day. Byleth sat on the roots of a large oak, looking around. She snapped bread and started ruminating; she was afraid of wasting time.

A rustling began to manifest as Byleth took her last bites. She turned to one side and saw nothing: it could not have been the wind. Another dark noise shook her. It could have been an animal. She tried in every way not to pant. Byleth did not know whether or not to bring her hand to the handle of his sword. A shadow had settled on the figure of her, while the noise had not been repeated.

She suddenly stood up, determined to draw her sword, but as soon as her head turned she saw an imposing black armor. Byleth released her voice and raised her head. She stepped back abruptly. The hood of the cloak lowered, revealing her face to him.

“It can't be… you’re alive?!”

Byleth looked up at the man's face: the eye bags under the blue iris were reddish, the chin wide, the bandage menacing, the lips swollen and pale. His hair was ruffled in a pitiful way. She was amazed at how tall he was compared to her. She wanted to shout his name, but could only emit confused sighs. She slumped onto his chest, hugging him. Suddenly, tears wet the armour. The man was trembling. After a few moments, one of his arms slowly moved over Byleth's back. He touched her hair hesitantly. A cry came from the woman's moans; Dimitri could not understand its origin.

“Are you injured?” He asked, watching her hair press on him.

“No...” Byleth whispered. Her voice was muffled by tears. “I can't believe you're here.”

Dimitri did not change expression, however he held her with greater force. Byleth wanted to doze off in his heat, but decided to look up.

“How... how did you survive? But above all, how are you?” She blinked hastily.  
“Are you hungry? Are you thirsty?” She asked, not yet completely free from tears.

“I'm... I'm hungry” murmured Dimitri. Byleth detached herself slightly from the embrace to pull out the bread she had.

“Take it all, I've already eaten” she handed it to him. Dimitri, without hesitation, reached out to the stocky and took it with an aggressive bite.

"Slowly, slowly” Byleth ordered, noticing how his pupil remained fixed on the bread while he was eating. When Dimitri finished, he gathered the crumbs on the glove to carry them in his mouth, which did not stop emitting beast noises. Byleth's stomach twisted thinking about how much he had suffered from starvation.

“Thank you...” whispered Dimitri, whose cornea was shiny. Byleth smiled, stroking his cheek; the blonde hair were drier than straw.

“Come with me at the monastery, please” she said. Dimitri did not utter a word and looked down.

“Nobody will hurt you, trust me... I met there with the Church of Seiros and the Black Eagle house” explained Byleth.

“What about the Empire?” Dimitri asked. Byleth took a moment to catch her breath

“Edelgard is dead” she whispered. “I killed her... with my own hands.”

“Finally” gasped Dimitri lugubriously. “That witch did not deserve anything else.”

Byleth looked down; she didn't know how to respond. Edelgard had met the end she deserved, judging by Seteth's words and now by Dimitri’s. However, the memory of the girl's head falling at the foot of Adrestia's throne, as well as her blood splashed on the floor and on Byleth's thighs, gave her an intense sense of nausea.

“I know, but...” she trembled. “Before dying, she called me her teacher... She was my student! I believed in her!”, Byleth began to cry again. Her cheeks faded a veiled reddish purple.

“When they ordered me to kill her, I didn't think it was the right thing to do... but I was afraid to protect her, to protect who was supposed to be my enemy”, she looked up to him, but could not see clearly his face.

“I lost her, it’s all my fault… And now Claude is missing...” her voice reached her precious shouting. “I don't want to loose you too!”

Dimitri did not move his lips. He bowed his head and approached the woman. With the same arm, he held her close. He placed his thick fingers on her neck.

“I’m sorry, Professor” he murmured. “I have no reason to live, but...” 

“Don't say that...” Byleth whispered. “Please! Please!”

The woman's voice lost intensity in repeating the plea. Dimitri put his hand on her wrist, which felt his warmth and grasp. Byleth met his gaze with her round, shiny eyes. Dimitri caressed the professor's forearm.

“I will follow you to the monastery.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally they meet each other!  
> Also I’m happy that this chapter is longer than its previous!


	3. Dreaming Petals

Their path in the woods was becoming increasingly difficult: the sun was dying and the ground was getting darker with the colors of the night. The branches of the trees took a skeletal and sinister shape. It was more and more difficult to avoid tripping over the roots of the most majestic trees; each time it happened, one supported the other grabbing them by the wrist and then continued.

Dimitri, whose cloak was visibly bruised from dirt and previous battles, did not walk very fast. Byleth did not venture to urge him in order to accelerate, since he was certainly weakened comparing to how her dreams and imagination had drawn him. Although the celestial of his eye was still vibrant, it appeared increasingly dull - sometimes absent.

As soon as they saw the walls of the monastery, the professor began to scream for help: “Help me! I beg you!”

Once they landed the path to the entrance, some knights were about to reach them.

“Professor! Where have you been?”

“But that's...”

Dimitri muttered in his hoarsely voice.

“He is Dimitri from the Blaiddyd dynasty” Byleth let go of his arm. “Please help him! He needs to wash, to eat, to rest!”

“No...” Dimitri grinned. The knights were all confused: women and men in the market area headed towards the gates to meet their confused buzzes, which evolved into an insistent noise of voices of every type of tones.

“What is going on?!” a mature male exclamation made its way through the bustle.

“Seteth!” Byleth called him. He was running towards the crowd that had gathered, and then stopped abruptly.

“Your Highness! You are alive!”

“Did you see, Caspar? He is His Highness, Dimitri of Faerghus!”

“I cannot believe it! He looks like a completely different person, who knows how many battles he has been through!”

Caspar tried to make his way through the crowd to see Dimitri. Linhardt followed him discreetly.

“I heard he has lived in the woods... I would never want to be in his place", the bishop did not seem to be enthusiast by the idea of it.

“I wonder how many monsters he has fought!”, the warrior did not lose his vitality for a moment.

“I really don't want to think about it!”

“His appearance is so threatening!” Bernadetta yelled. Controlling herself in agitation was not certainly easy.

“Threatening? I'm not afraid of it, in fact I'm happy”, Petra was surprisingly calm. She smiled observing the sudden scene.

“Didn't you see that he went very high?” The archer’s shoulders and legs trembled.

“Mh...”

“Is something wrong, Dorothea?” asked the amber-skinned girl.

“I’m so sorry for him” whispered the singer, who held her arms together in front of her. “He has lived in solitude, as a savage... Is so different from the prince we have known.”

“You’re right...” Bernadetta murmured biting her lips.

Dorothea's sweet gaze blunted into a melancholy expression.

“The war has changed him.”

The two other girls accompanied her silence.

“Professor! What turmoil has been unleashed!”, Ferdinand went to meet Byleth, gleaming his usual swaggering attitudes; his long reddish hair swayed in the proud walk.

“Ferdinand! I cannot believe it, Dimitri is alive!” she replied, waving her hands.

“I have heard, in fact” the nobleman smiled raising his eyebrows, the same smile after sipping a cup of his favourite tea. “I'm simply amazed.”

“You were right Ferdinand!” Byleth was not standing still and composed, not even for a moment. “Dimitri was really still here with us!”

“Professor...” the young man sighed happily. “You look different.”

“Really?” she blinked.

“I see you vital... bright...” he put his index finger on his chin, supported by the rest of the hand. “And if I may, even more beautiful!”

“T-thanks...” Byleth blushed. “But how can it be?”

“In these last days I have found you dull, sad” explained Ferdinand extending his arm. “The good news must have brought you great joy!”

Byleth remained silent, looking around, as if she had not fully understood his words.

“Professor!” A shout clear like a pond reached their ears. Flayn was the first person they had seen walking, rather than running, around the monastery that evening.

“I can't believe that His Highness Dimitri got here! How did you find him?” The girl's eyes showed emerald flashes, despite night had already fallen.

“I found him in the woods... I have been so lucky” sighed Byleth. “He must have lived there since the battle that involved also the Empire and the Alliance.”

“Incredible, it's not for everyone to be able to survive so long!” Ferdinand commented. “This undoubtedly highlights his warrior skills.”

“Poor Dimitri! It must have been tough”, Flayn's porter frowned.

“Oh Flayn, there is no need to be melancholic” Seteth joined them with his hands behind his back, smiling when he saw the girl.

“Seteth! How is His Highness?” Byleth did not hesitate for a moment.

“We entrusted Manuela in medicating his wounds, while at the refectory the cooks are already preparing a dinner that can strengthen and satiate him properly”, he returned composed although not rigid. “We're also clearing a dorm room where he can rest and... wash.”

“Thank you, thank you very much” Byleth panted.

“If you want to visit him, I recommend you to wait until tomorrow morning.”

* * *

  
  
Byleth knocked gently with her thin knuckles. She heard a dry breath.

“Who is there?”

“It's me, the professor.”

Dimitri immediately opened the door. His figure was so robust, but not as imposing as she imagined. His face was already different from how she had seen it the day before - his cheeks were coarsely pinker and his eye had lost that deadly red circle.

“Come in” he invited her, looking into her eyes.

“I'm glad to see you're better”, Byleth gave him a warm smile.

In the room, there was a basin with water still in it. As soon as she entered the door, Byleth was immersed in the scent of flowers and berries.

“How was the food last night?” She asked, turning to him.

“Delicious...” panted Dimitri. Byleth shouldn't have expected anything else.

“If you want we can have breakfast together, the sweet buns here are a real treat!” She exclaimed.

“They already brought them to me a little while ago, but I have left a few” Dimitri went to the table and handed her the tray - there were only a couple left.

“I can’t believe you left them! What are you waiting for?”

“I suppose they have prepared too many of them, since I am not hungry anymore”, he handed the buns to her. “Take it.”

“Thanks...” Byleth stammered, picking up one. She followed Dimitri into sitting on the bed.

”I don't know how to thank you, Professor... you saved my life”, he murmured as he watched her eat - the food lay between her minute palms and her bites were discreet. Byleth waited to finish swallowing before answering.

“I wish I could have done more to be honest”, muttered looking at the floor. “If things went different years ago, perhaps you would never had to live alone in the woods.”

“I don't understand why you think about it”, Dimitri did not look away. “It was not you to start the war.”

“I know, but it's as if... if I had followed your class, I could have saved you earlier, for example...”

Both remained silent for a moment. Byleth did not approach the food.

“Is there anything else that bothers you?” Dimitri asked, turning his chin towards her.

“I'm just a little nervous about our next mission” she whispered. “On the last day of the month, which is soon to come, we will face those who slither in the dark in their city without light.”

“Those who slither in the dark? City without light?” Dimitri opened his mouth.  
“I don't think you've had the chance to know, but I'll explain” Byleth went to meet him with her eyes and knees. “They are the real enemy of the Goddess, of her children, of all Fodlan.”

“And how will the Church deal with them?”

“We will invade Shambala, their stronghold.”

“I'll go with you”, Dimitri grunted.

“No!” Byleth's eyes widened. “Don't you see how you are reduced?”

“I've been fighting monsters and ferocious animals all the time I have been in the woods... you've helped me, it is my turn now to help you.”

“No, Dimitri, they are not mere monsters” the woman's face was frowned. “They are dark and merciless creatures!”

“I cannot hold back then, I must join the Church’s army and help you” the young man's forehead wrinkled, as did Byleth's mouth.

“I beg you” her voice was fading. “I don't want to risk losing you.”

Dimitri remained silent.

“In the last few months, I have thought about you so many times” the woman's body began to fidget - she did not stand still with her arms and suddenly crossed her legs. “I missed you and, I don't know how it's possible... but it made me suffer.”

Their views intersected. Dimitri's arms were folded on his lap. His face was softening and his pupil moved in various directions - towards the teacher, towards the floor, towards the ceiling, and then remained still.

“I cannot understand how could you have suffered...” he coughed. “Suffered for a monster like me.”

“Why would you be a monster?” Byleth was determined in pronouncing the phrase. ”Why are you babbling this nonsense?”

”There is no human left in me” Dimitri languished. Byleth put a hand on his wrist.

“When we met in the forest, you embraced and caressed me, you protected me while I was drowning in tears... While we crossed it, you took me by the hand every time I risked stumbling and, when it happened to me, you were always there to rise me up.”

“Tell me, is this the behavior of a monster?"

“I…”

Dimitri thought of her teared face and her voice scratched by moans. He remembered that he didn't know how to behave in that situation - his instincts, however, suggested him to immediately defend Byleth from everything that was hurting her. He had sensed her body so tiny, so fragile as he held her in his arms. He remembered feeling estranged - he hadn't embraced someone from immemorial time and thinking about it brought him undoubted delight. However, a voice in his head suggested that he did not deserve the smallest glimmer of confort.

“You're not a monster” Byleth silenced it. She offered him a radiant smile, which released her light all over her face. Dimitri studied his features.

“I ask you, please, to stay here and rest”, her smile did not vanish. “If you want, you can train in the camp like when you were studying here!”

“Thank you, Professor” was the only thing Dimitri managed to articulate.

“If you want...” Byleth whispered. “You can call me by my name.”

Dimitri waved his lips like a child learning to speak.

“Was it... Byles?” He mumbled. Her laughter was a gentle, light summer breeze.

“Byleth.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are in the middle of the story, only two chapters left!  
> This is more like a transition part, while in the next one the relationship between Dimi and Byleth will evolve even more and things will get... interesting.  
> It satisfies me that chapters’ length increases constantly. However, I have to say this is draining me more energy than I could imagine. I’m writing this fan fic both in English and Italian and is a real challenge, but I have to say that I’m having fun!  
> I’m somehow getting attached to my work and I hope I’m bringing you a good product.  
> Looking forward to post Chapter 4 before the end of the month!


	4. Passionate Petals

“It's time for me to go” Byleth announced. She had on the left side the Sword of the Creator, ready to be drawn at any time.

“Please Byleth”, Dimitri stared at her. “Make sure you come back.”

“There is nothing to worry about”, her smile bewitched him every time. “I have faced the Empire... I can afford this too.”

“But those monsters are far more threatening than the Empire, or so it seems”, his thick lips etched the following silence.

“In any case, I will not be alone”, the woman's determination showed no sign of extinction. She approached the warrior, returning his intense gaze.

Byleth was not yet used to the fact that, in the years in which they had been separated, he had grown so much in height; standing in front of him had often frightened her. At that moment, however, she felt that he could protect her only by staring at her. She opened her arms and enclosed Dimitri's chest, who instinctively gathered her to him. The swordswoman could only glimpse the dark shades of her clothes. In detaching herself from the embrace, she looked as a bird abandoning the maternal nest.

“Goodbye.”

Dimitri saw Byleth turn away as the gentle wind moved her hair eastward. His big hand touched the image of the woman in motion, squeezing her, imagining that he had taken it himself and never let her go.

* * *

“Make way!” Began to shout a knight just outside the walls. Other screams began to follow it, creating further cackles. Chaos spread quickly throughout the monastery.

Dimitri was training as soon as the first moans met his ears. He turned his head in various directions, until they became louder. He immediately placed his spear to run towards the courtyard of the monastery. Their nature continued to be a mystery: he could not identify any concrete speech from the words of passersby.

He started running.

As soon as Byleth approached the main corridor, she was joined by a confused mass of people.

“Professor!”

"What happened?”

“Have you retired?”

“How is it possible?”

Byleth did not utter a word. The noise made her dizzy. She remained as still and nervous as a fearful animal.

“Byleth!”, the only voice she recognized was able to move her. Dimitri ran towards her, then touched her shoulders.

“Do you have any idea about what is going on?” He panted.

“Shambala has fallen...” she sighed. "However, Rhea is seriously injured.”

The people around them began to cackle insistently. Byleth turned her back and ran away like a hare. Dimitri followed her - suggested by his instincts, naming her both mumbling and in her mind. The latter did not give him peace: “ _Byleth, don't go away from me_.”

The darkness was now dominant: nobody managed to follow her. She ran to a hedge and then crossed it by spreading her legs. She sat in front of it, basking, brought her arms around her knees and lowered the head.  
She heard persistent thuds on the ground and didn't know whether to be heartened or upset.

“What are you doing?”

If Byleth had a heart it would not have known how to behave when recognizing Dimitri: if to slow down the beat or if to speed it up. She remained silent. Her face swung towards him.

“Are you alright?”, He sat down beside her, stretching one leg and resting one arm on the knee of the other.

“No...” Byleth whispered. “Seteth told me... I have to take Rhea's place.”

“As archbishop?”

“As governor of Fodlan.”

Dimitri opened his eye wide.

“Will you be the queen of the whole land?”

“They say I'm the most suitable person, however...” she bit her lower lip. “I'm scared.”

“I can relate” Dimitri moved closer. “It is not simple to have the weight of a crown upon you.”

“Wouldn't you like to get yours back?” Byleth asked. “What will you do now that the war is over?”

“There is no reason for me to be king” he shook his head. “Maybe I could join the knights.”

“It would be enough for me to know that you have a normal life”, she placed a hand on Dimitri's thigh. ”Something tells me... that you've suffered too much.”

He pressed his lips to themselves as he watched their reclining hands. Byleth laced her fingers between Dimitri's; it seemed that the gesture had given him a new energy.

“Regardless the decision you’ll make in the future, you can always count on me” he smiled for the first time since they met in the woods.

“Thank you, Dimitri.”

* * *

  
  
The morning rays of the sun gave way to the more arrogant and biting ones of the afternoon, but not yet to annoy the inhabitants of the monastery. Lunch time on that Sunday had come to an end: everyone returned to their activities of interest.  
Byleth was in the courtyard, greenest than ever. She noticed that honeysuckle flowers were still attached to the tree, even more flourishing than the first time she saw them; the leaves of the fragile plant had almost completely invaded the trunk of the shrub. She smiled for the scene’s beauty.

Suddenly she felt a weight on her shoulder and turned. Dimitri's figure was clearly present in front of her. She chuckled joyfully.

“Look!” She invited. Dimitri released a perplexed noise, raising his head.

“What plant is it? I had never seen these flowers on a log.”

“There are two plants: honeysuckle has bloomed on the core”, explained the professor. “I found it in a botanical book.”

“What was wrote in it about them?" The man made his interest clear.

“Honeysuckle is a climbing plant...” Byleth recalled. “When it binds to another, it gives support and they survive together.”

Dimitri instinctively picked up her hand, which turned showing her pink cheeks like the petals of a cyclamen. His smile was determined. Byleth stood on tiptoe and placed the tip of her thin mouth on Dimitri's thick cheek, who remained motionless and smiling. He would have liked to reciprocate the gesture with all of himself, but he did not consider himself capable of doing it: tenderness did not belong to him - not to a monster like him. He turned around and saw some people sitting in the distance. He stiffened timely and stayed that way until Byleth stroked his cheek as soon as it was touched by her kiss.

“Aren’t you comfortable here?”

Dimitri shook his head.

“Nobody can bother us in my room.”

* * *

They waited until dark. Many had already dined and the night was now protagonist.  
Dimitri was certain that someone could have spotted him in the way to Byleth's room. He made a rather ambiguous tour to prevent someone from stalking him out of curiosity: since he resided at the monastery, many had studied him curious from afar.  
He knocked on the door producing heavy thuds.

“Come in”, Byleth opened it just gradually to let him pass. Once Dimitri completely crossed the threshold, she immediately closed and sat down on the bed, nodding to he. She was smiling radiantly. Nervous flows had passed through his body all evening, but at that moment he stopped perceiving it.  
Byleth was not wearing her jacket and boots: she could reveal her sinuous shapes graven in her thighs and hips.

“What are you waiting for?” She called. Dimitri had gotten lost to observe her and hadn't noticed the movement of the hand. He sat, wishing to hold her in his arms all night. The moments with her were the only ones when the voices in his head found respite - however, just touching her body meant profaning it.

“Dimitri, I want to meet you” whispered Byleth. “The real you.”  
She touched his face and hair with a hand. Dimitri felt captured by her gaze; she was not a feline seducer, but a naive round-eyed fawn. His instinct screamed that wanted her all for himself.  
Byleth hesitated to take off her top clothes, but found courage the more he looked at her.

“It's my first time...” she blushed intensely.

“Do you want to entrust a monster like me your first time?”, he asked - but the woman silenced him with her frail index finger. After putting it away, she started kissing his mouth. It continued until Dimitri returned the gesture. He hugged her abruptly; the warmth of his body resembled the warm blankets of his bed in the castle of Fhirdiad.

"Shall I take off all my clothes?" He sighed while mouths never stopped meeting. Byleth smiled.

“Uhm...” she gasped, sitting astride him. Dimitri took a certain distance from her and began to undress the upper part of the armor: she revealed her chest scratched by indisputable scars. His ribs were covertly visible.  
Byleth took her cloak and spread it on the bed, intrigued by its potential warmth. She briefly detached herself from Dimitri's body by lying down on it, taking off stockings and upper clothes revealing her prosperous breasts. She began to stimulate her vulva with a finger.  
He landed on top of her - his hands resting on the pillow and his knees on the bottom of the mattress. His hands craved nothing more than touching and possessing what was the most precious of gems. He saw her so small and defenseless, with nothing to shield her, now that he saw her without clothes. He put his hand towards Byleth's thighs, feeling her warmth; a finger of him entered his vagina by sliding viscous and she smiled closing her eyes, while other fingers entered repeating the movement. Dimitri bowed his head to kiss her lips and taste her body. While she was responding to his gestures, she removed the bandage from his head revealing the grayish, slightly moist eye, marked by an arched red scar. It smelled of a deadly colch, which however did not frighten her.  
Byleth approached the lower part of his armor; the hand that wasn't stimulating her helped her: she pulled the penis out. Dimitri removed, with unusual delicacy, the hand from her vagina and looked at it intently. His breath was muffled. Byleth shook her head vertically, with an even more radiant new smile. Dimitri walked over to her tiny body, opened her legs with strong palms, and met her. Her pretty face was completely tulip red and her breathing was getting more and more labored - so was her laughter.  
Entering inside her, Dimitri began to be crossed by a wave of pleasure he could not forsake.  
He leaned down to her and picked her up with his mighty arms, nestled around her white back. His penis was slowly absorbed by Byleth's internal heat. Dimitri squeezed her with all his strength, making her helpless at every possible escape, and kissed her neck suddenly - he wanted to eat her to ensure that she never abandoned him. The two mouths met again and the tongues began to play, exchanging their saliva. They pressed together tenderly.  
Dimitri explored her skin kissing it in various places: from the neck it descended towards the shoulders and from these it reached her breasts, in which he concentrated on sucking her increasingly solid nipples. Continuing further down, he encountered her soft belly and kissed her navel: Byleth screamed kicking one leg upwards - her foot touched Dimitri's ear, who brought a hand to her mouth. Her voice got intense as the gesture was repeated.  
Byleth had never felt so protected: Dimitri was inside her to take possession of her body and his arms had not let her go for a second; his austere figure dominated her sight; his deep voice ceaselessly muffled her ears. She never wanted it to stop - wishing she belonged to him like a small flower in his mighty hands.  
The penis had not only swelled further, but proceeded confused inside Byleth. Dimitri struggled more and more to contain himself: he was about to release his liquids into the body of his beloved... Yes, his beloved.

“What shall I do?” He panted while the two mouths were still near.

“Do it...” Byleth whispered. He didn't know how to brake. His gonads went limp with the sperm flowing into the vagina. Both of them sighed in bizarre harmony.  
Dimitri put his penis back and slumped over her. His cloak had absorbed their heat. He did not pick up any of the bed for that summer night was hot herself.  
Moving to the side of the wall, he embraced Byleth and leaned her head on his chest. She dozed off letting him do whatever he aspired.  
At that time, Dimitri was the only one who could elaborate the slightest speech.

“Whatever your choice will be...” Dimitri whispered, untangling Byleth’s hair by caressing her. “I will follow you to death, my beloved.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear Sothis, here I am. I swear this has been so intense and hard to write!  
> We are approaching the end of the story... I’m not sure if you’re ready for it.  
> I will post the last chapter on the first or second week of March, or so I hope. Might take a few more to write it. This one too has been in progress for a while, but honestly? I’m satisfied!  
> I really hope you appreciated! Thank you for visiting. <3


	5. Withered Petals

Byleth couldn not sleep that night. She had taken the courage to make the decision to lead the country and in the same day she intended to discuss about it with Rhea. She was tense, even when not showing it if not for the her thighs and hands sometines trembling. She went down the courtyard’s stairs to reach the cemetery, with her cloak floating and stopped in front of her parents' grave. 

She remembered her father's face becoming increasingly bloodless; his smile fading away... That image had tormented her for a long time in her sleep. By the time’s passing, however, Byleth learned the habit to live with it. At that moment, she would have wished that Jeralt was by her side, to advise her, to give support in her decision. Maybe he would actually have been the best person to lead the Church army and Fodlan.

The professor had always kept her parents' wedding ring with her, but she had never really stopped to think about who could recieve it from her. Not until that month, at least. Without Dimitri, Byleth felt she would never have had the courage to choose to have that responsibility so soon - it was over half the Verdant Rain Moon and almost three weeks had passed since they returned from Shambala. Byleth imagined going up the majestic stairs with her hand enclosed in Dimitri's. She yet remembered that he had no intention of going back to dealing with royalty. Byleth started to get excited thinking about asking him to marry her. It was the thing Byleth most wanted, but was still reluctant to tell him about it.

Thunderous steps instinctively caught her attention. She turned, pleased to see who was walking down the steps: Dimitri smiled boldly, as she had rarely seen him.

“Glad to see you” Byleth announced. “I came to bring flowers to my mother and father's grave.”

Dimitri joined her, taking on a more serious and grim expression, of which she was no longer afraid or in awe.

“You did the right thing” he said. “No one knows how I long to return to Fhirdiad and lay flowers on those of my loved ones…”

“We'll go together soon, then” she murmured. “But now I have to focus on something important.”

Both looked deeply into their eyes, making their hearts in contact.

“I will talk to Rhea about my decision today.”

Byleth bowed to put the flowers she held in one hand on the grave. Immediately after getting up, she turned her body towards Dimitri. They had learned not to hide - his sloping chest welcomed her in his embrace, while she sank her chin in his fur coat.

When they separated, their eyes intertwined again; that time, however, there was no suffering. The next occasion on which they would meet was certain: after discussing with Rhea, Byleth would come back to him and ask him to marry her under the night sky - whether this was filled with hopeful stars, whether ot had the moon and her blue glow as protagonists.

Dimitri remained in the cemetery, while Byleth went up the stairs that connected it to the monastery. She walked slowly. In the fewer days, she somewhat felt weaker - standing up for to long made her dizzy easily, but did not intend to tell Dimitri anything about it.

On her way, she met Flayn's sweet and smiling face, who greeted her with a wave of hand.

“Professor!” The girl squeaked. “I saw you were together with His Highness Dimitri!”

Byleth blushed. She would have liked to tell her about her feeling with enthusiasm and passion, but was still not able to fully express herself.

“I also saw you under the tree in the courtyard…”, Flayn approached and whispered delicately, remembering the song of a bird.

“Ah yes?”, Byleth did not know how to feel about it - soon, everyone would have known about her engagement with Dimitri, on the other hand however she was still nervous about exposing in public.

“I also heard about the story of the honeysuckle and the hazelnut tree” Flayn exclaimed while keeping her voice low. “It was truly a beautiful story!”

“It's not a story!” Byleth chuckled. “I read it in a botanical book!”

“I understand Professor, and yet it is truly romantic” Flayn whispered. The smiling swordswoman came closer to her.

“Flayn listen, I'm going to go talk to Rhea ... I assume Seteth will be there too.”

“Have you made your decision?”

“Yes.”

“We will reach them together then!”

* * *

Dimitri was nervous in his room. He was cleaning his spear, Areadbhar, after the long training session of that afternoon. Byleth was certainly talking with the archbishop in that precise moment. Their lives were undoubtedly about to change. His beloved would have soon ascended to Fodlan’s throne and after that they could hardly taken refuge in the same precious moments they had at the monastery. And what if he asked her to marry her? At that moment Dimitri feared the future more than the past that had plagued him for years.

By uniting in marriage, he would have had to take the title of prince consort. For months, he had wished to no longer being involved in court affairs. Byleth, however, as he managed to see, had been agitated and fearful for days. That same night, Dimitri would ask her to marry her. He was not sure that she would accept - if so, he would have faced the harsh reality and dedicate himself to the war arts in solitude. He was fearful, agitated, yet dreamy in recalling her shy smile.

An indescribable noise violently penetrated his ears. Dimitri suddenly got up from the bed he was sitting on. He could not identify its nature: it seemed the cry of a woman and yet the roar of a monster of huge dimensions.

Dimitri took his weapon and ran away from the room: there was no one there. He grunted and went down the dormitory stairs to go out into the courtyard.

He saw a sky of blood. People in the nearby area ran confused; among these were the knights of the Church of Seiros. Dimitri joined them, as everyone was heading to the same spot.

“What is happening?!” he barked. Some of them turned - their expressions of terror were perceived from the helmets.

“Lady Rhea… she's not like before…” one gasped.

“We have to stop her, or the Fodlan will be razed!” Said another.

“Where is the professor?!” Dimitri growled.

“She is fighting on the other side, we have to take care of the other Beasts to reduce the defenses” explained a third knight intruding on the panic of the other two.

“Follow us, Your Highness! We need your strength!”

Dimitri chased them, frowning, willing to exterminate any enemy he saw if it meant to making him return to his beloved.

* * *

Ferdinand grabbed his spear nervously, raising his head: the Immaculate One would never have really looked him in the eyes - her instinct led her to destroy anything she saw. However, he persisted in seeking her gaze in defiance.

The soldiers had recently shouted Bernadetta's fall: the sweetest and most fragile of the girls Ferdinand had ever known would not have spent peace times with him. He had conserved the ring of the Von Aegir family, which he kept at that moment with him, with the desire to give it to the girl. Ferdinand could not cry. As much as a part of him yearned to surrender and bask, his primary purpose had not yet vanished: to fulfill his noble ideals and protect the people.

The Immaculate One flaunted her pointed fangs. From the mouth came a bright bundle of death, determined to extend towards the knight. He gritted his teeth.

The impetuous beam blinded him; it sparkled with a dazzling blue. An unbearable whistle pierced his ears. An icy stream covered him in place of the skin.

A hoarse cry shook the surrounding area.

Ferdinand rushed off his horse and fell to the ground. The animal ran mad.

In the aggressive light, he saw two gray eyes and a red cheek.

He finished coughing with a smile carved over his pronounced chin.

“Ferdinand! No!” Byleth frowned in terror. The Immaculate One moved her muzzle towards her. The woman closed her eyes, recognizing the bluish gleams on the silhouettes in her sight.

When she opened them again, Ferdinand was still on his horse with gritted teeth. Byleth feared that it would not be enough to protect him: she would have liked Time to return even further back, in order to save Bernadetta as well. There was no time, however, to regret.

She ran towards Ferdinand. The attack of the majestic beast came on both fighters. Byleth slumped to the ground, trying not to move her eyelids. She gasped as soon as she no longer felt the handle of the Sword of the Creator in her palm.

Byleth got to her feet and saw the same macabre scenario as before: the horse had already run away and Ferdinand was lying on the ground lifeless. Byleth's weapon had fallen behind her.

The Immaculate one was staring at her with small and disturbing pupils, grunting like no animal known, blurring her original female voice.

Byleth backed away with the muscles of her tense arms and legs. Her stomach suddenly twitched on itself. She felt her abdomen agonizing, but did not stop to fight. Her feet however felt heavy and her head dizzy.

The dragon had still opened her horrible mouth. Byleth slowed down, even if she couldn’t do it. She could barely keep on her feet reaching the weapon. Was about to touch the blade when the whitish aura reached her.

She saw nothing else.

Byleth let out harrowing screams - the ones nobody would have never wanted to hear - and fell to the ground.

The invasive glimmer turned into a sultry cyan, which she recognized immediately. Byleth felt guilty as soon as she dived into the eternal ocean. She managed to cough for a few moments.

“Dimitri…” her lament sayed his name twice, before exhaling her last breath.

  
  


“Forgive me…”

  
  


The monastery bells sang like no one had ever heard. Not in the notes that symbolized the beginning or end of the lessons. It was a dismal and incessant melody, which gave voice only to the most low notes.

It was the signal of retreat.

  
  


“The professor has fallen!”

  
  


The first desperate cries tore the ears of those who still fought the White Beasts. The more the Immaculate one released rays from the mouth without any mercy, the more they became intense.

Dimitri waved his spear against the Beasts he encountered. Their surrender to the ground satisfied him, satisfied him; it distracted him from the mournful singing of the bells that pounded his ears.

“Save yourself!” Some knights ran a short distance from him. One stumbled upon a pile of debris and released his screams again.

“Your Highness, run away!”

The lancer turned to him, who did not discover his eye covered with matted hair. He grunted.

“The end has come... the professor is dead” the knight coughed. “We are all doomed!”

Dimitri had ignored all the signs that the battle was giving: he hadn't considered the bells giving the signal, neither the complaints of other fighters or the collapsing structures. He awoke from the sleep in which he dragged himself in to slaughter the enemies supposed to be defeated. Dimitri ran to north, ignoring the other's voice, increasingly muffled by other screams he heard. His lungs burned, but they didn't stop his scream.

  
  


“Give her to me!”

  
  


The Immaculate One opened her skeletal wings against the smoky sky. From her jaws came the most intense light of death she had ever generated. Reaching the ground, it destroyed everything it encountered.

Dimitri, finding shelter behind a heap of rubbles, was dazzled by it. When it no longer invaded his sight, he no longer heard any cry. However, his sense of smell was being tortured by the lugubrious smell of meat - after years of being an assassin, he recognized it for sure. Dimitri stood up suddenly, holding Areadbhar. A debris suddenly fell on his forehead, opening a wound on it; blood dripped onto his face, marking it with its metallic stink. A leaden mist invaded his face. He snorted roughly as he ran to the entrance of the monastery, whose exterior walls were disintegrated. He swept through the ruins as his breath exhausted from fatigue.

  
  


“Give her to me!”

Dimitri’s feet passed on arms and legs. His single eye recognized a familiar face: the thin nose and the long hair with vague burnt reflections, although covered with dust, left no doubt. His heart went mad in desperate beats. Dimitri never wanted her green hair and her sweet face to emerge between that devastation.

But his worst nightmare became true. The spear fell from his grasp.

He knelt and pulled it out by the wrists. One of his hands leaned on her shoulder, while the other supported the legs. Byleth’s eyes were closed and the mouth was half open, yet it was the only body whose skin had not yet a yellowish undertone. Her face was still graceful and adorable in its round shapes.

Dimitri rested his ear on her chest: he had never felt such an imposing and cold silence. He began to observe her body with his limited vision. She had some fresh scars on her arms, which did not seem to ruin them - her bare belly, however, revealed a dark red laceration, which had no smell. Dimitri caressed it with the sweetness that had never belonged to him and with the same she would have liked to kiss it. He thought back to when he touched it on their first night, the same night of their love making.

Tears streaked his vulnerable face, scratching his flesh more than any wound taken in that battle. His stomach twisted bitterly. His eyepatch no longer held and fell not far from Byleth. His injured eye secreted viscous liquids, with a nauseating smell. Dimitri held her to him with all the strength he had in his body, knowing that he could no longer destroy her. He released his agonizing voice, his cries and rues of pain, until he no longer had the strength and felt his throat threadbare.

* * *

  
  


> _“When the honeysuckle has wound itself round and is attached to the hazel tree, the two plants survive together._
> 
> _However, their destiny is to wither both when they are separated. If one should die, the other would perish as well.”_

* * *

  
  


Dimitri could no longer murmur or whisper anything. His eyes were both dry and no tears came out of them. No desperate cry came anymore from the surrounding area. He had no idea about how long he had been there, if hours or minutes. He only knew that he had Byleth’s corpse in his arms.

He didn't let her go for a moment, except for one of his hands, knocking on the wall that Dimitri had beside him. Breathing aggressively, he released a punch with greater force and thud. So it continued until the arm collapsed on his beloved.

What was left of the upper part of the structure, already wavering, trembled vehemently.

Dimitri buried his face in Byleth's hair, coughing from the accumulated dust. He saw nothing else but her until he breathed his last.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  


Many centuries after the Garreg Mach catastrophe, Fodlan slowly returned to its former glory; the vegetation became flourishing and people began to inhabit the previously devastated territories.

It is not precisely known what was the fate of the Immaculate one. According to some legends, she was defeated by the forces of the Almyra, while others say that she flew to an unknown destination.

The ruins of Garreg Mach’s monastery became a center of interest. Some texts from the library had miraculously survived. Great curiosity however was aroused by the memory of the tragedy, of which it is said that there were no survivors.

The first time someone set foot in it after the catastrophe, numerous bones were found. It was on that occasion that a curious event took place: an imposing skeleton, which must have belonged to a warrior, was embraced to a lifeless woman with a large scar on her abdomen. Nobody was able to understand how her body hadn't been decayed through the years. When they tried to detach the two bodies, the skeleton dissolved into dust.

In the central area of the ruins, a majestic tree had sunk its roots. Over time, its trunk was completely covered by white flowers, whose petals barely let the green of the leaves be seen. A girl was often seated on the grass telling visitors about the story of the honeysuckle and the hazel tree, symbols of love, linked by a common and indissoluble destiny.

Nobody ever dared to separate them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From the bottom of my heart, I really hope you appreciated my story. This is the longest one I ever wrote - and the hardest. I’m so happy I got to finish it! Many times I had ideas in mind, but rarely they came to life.  
> What happens to Dimitri is a reference to Hugo’s Notre-Dame de Paris.   
> I thank everyone for your kudos, comments, bookmarks and readings. <3 It means a lot!  
> I will of course return to write Dimileth someday, because I love them.  
> Best regards,  
> Kurrin. ♡


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